Lockdown again? The numbers are rising again, the fourth wave is threatening;

Lockdown again? The numbers are rising again, the fourth wave is threatening;

The fourth wave of coronavirus has already arrived in some countries, some are still waiting for it, and it is inevitable in Serbia as well, experts say, considering that the opportunity to reach the expected percentage of immunization was not used.

How the states will welcome this wave depends on exactly how many citizens have been vaccinated.

Great Britain

"We are abandoning legal restrictions and we will allow people to make their own thoughtful decisions on how to deal with the virus," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a press conference.

This decision is possible because in Britain, 86 percent of adults were vaccinated with the first dose, and 64 percent of them received two doses. According to the British Prime Minister, vaccines are an obstacle between coronavirus infection and the fatal outcome of the disease, and it is becoming increasingly clear that vaccines are effective, as well as that there are unvaccinated patients in hospitals.

Prime Minister Johnson announced that measures for wearing masks, bans on nightclubs would be lifted as of July 19, and stadiums, cinemas and theaters would be allowed to fill all seats again.

France

On the other side is France. The total number of vaccinated residents does not exceed 40 percent. Although this country opened nightclubs three days ago, after 16 months, new restrictions are mentioned again, because the delta strain has again led to an increase in the number of infected people.

In France, vaccines are available to anyone over the age of 12. Although the number of vaccinated is not small, the population is still not protected, and an additional problem is that the demand for vaccines has been on a downward trajectory in recent weeks.

In such a situation, the French authorities mention new measures that will limit the number of people in public, although free COVID tests are likely to be charged, and health workers will be required to be vaccinated.

Greece

The number of new cases of coronavirus in Greece is growing rapidly, and the more contagious delta strain is spreading rapidly, especially among young people, and the total number of fully immunized population does not exceed 40 percent. Due to that, new restrictions were introduced. All cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs will be able to work only if they have seated seats on their disposal.

However, Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis states that measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus will be applied only to persons who have not been vaccinated.

A debate will be held next week on whether the measures can be continued at "non-COVID" and "mixed" locations, which the government announced two weeks ago, Georgiadis said, explaining that the situation is now completely different and that due to rapid spread of the delta variant the number of cases increased daily from 500 to almost 3.000.

And what is the situation in Serbia?

State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Mirsad Djerlek warned today that the fourth wave of the coronavirus is inevitable, considering that the opportunity to reach the expected percentage of immunization was not used. As long as the situation does not calm down globally, COVID will be a threat, it depends on all of us how hard it will hit us in the fall, and whether it will, it is very likely that it will, said today the director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic, Dr Goran Stevanović.

"It's not just a situation here, but everywhere in the world. People can't kept in mind for too long that preventive protection is needed and when the numbers seem to have dropped - relaxation follows. It will help the virus reactivate and we witness not only in our country, but worldwide, that the numbers are growing again", he warned.

When asked whether we should be afraid of autumn due to the new wave, Dr Stevanović reminds that the season of flu and a larger number of respiratory infections is coming, so citizens should be extra careful.

"I would like to point out that we should still be most wary of corona. On the other hand, autumn and winter are the time of flu. Thanks to the excellent response to last year's flu vaccination and measures to protect against respiratory infections, we practically did not have flu last year, so we all have to think about many infections together", the director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic concluded.

Young people present the biggest problem with immunization. According to the allegations of the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, from June 25, only 17% of the population under the age of 30 were vaccinated. Although the state has provided more benefits for the vaccinated, young people are still not vaccinated enough.

On July 1, it was announced in Serbia that a delta strain of coronavirus had been discovered, which, according to the data of the World Health Organization, records higher portability.